Valewalker spec

Foofmonger wrote: ↑

Fri 1 Feb 2019 8:12 PM

FoxFritter wrote: ↑

Fri 1 Feb 2019 3:22 PM

I'd honestly probably prefer a faster scythe. Miss chances are pretty high on VW..missing a 5s swing multiple times hurts A LOT more than missing on a faster scythe.

Yea there are a bunch of pros/cons with each approach. Missing (getting blocked/parried/evaded) on a slow scythe is a lot more detrimental to you then on a fast scythe.

But I'd boil down the argument basically to whether or not you are in a group set-up that is attempting to burst people down in less then 2 seconds, and whether or not you can reliably do that (aka not just intending to do it), because if any target you swing at takes 2 hits or more to go down, it's better to be using a fast scythe. So if you aren't in a group that's focusing on super burst damage, you'll find a fast scythe better in the vast majority of situations (and even if you are focusing on burst, if you can't reliably blow people up before they get focused healed then you'd be better off with a fast as well). Now if you have a group set up with a ton of front-loaded damage with the intention of playing that strategy, and it works, you'll just run around and make people explode with a slow scythe.

One of the nice things about fast scythes is how quickly you can get off chains versus a slow scythe. Lets say I'm swinging with a 2.0 speed (after qui/haste) versus a 5.0 speed (build with no haste/low qui), for the 5.0 speed scythe swing, I'd be able to get my first blizzard blade off at 10 seconds into combat (stunning blade 0.0, winter's scythe 5.0, blizzard blade 10.0). With the fast scythe, I'd get my first blizzard blade at 4 seconds into combat (stunning blade 0.0, winter's scythe 2.0, blizzard blade 4.0), and after 10 seconds in combat and I'd actually be getting my second blizzard blade (2nd stunning blade, 6.0, 2nd winter's scythe 8.0, 2nd blizzard blade 10.0). So while the overall swing damage from the attacks will be similar, my style proc damage will be much higher with the faster build because I'm getting those procs much faster. It also allows you to rotate stuns for peeling purposes much faster and more reliably. As to your main point, if I miss a back/side stun with a slow scythe, I can't even attempt to peel them again for 4-6 seconds. With a fast scythe, I can re-try 1.5-2 seconds later. Or if I want to try and peel multiples, I can theoretically hit 3 people with my backstun on a fast scythe in a 4.0 seconds period of time (0.0, 0.2, and 0.4) using the speeds in the example above, whereas with the slow build I wouldn't even be able to hit a 2nd guy until 5.0 seconds in.

TLDR: Fast is probably better in most overall situations, slow is more niche but better in specific group make-ups.
Note: That if you want to have both options and switch between the two, you'll want to have two sets of gear, one with capped quick, and one with no+quick.
Note 2: In terms of spec, if you are going for the slow build always go for 50 scythe. You are honestly probably fine with a 50/34 build because you'll never be using the haste. If you are going for a fast build, you can go whatever, and I highly recommend at least 38 arb for the haste (I personally like 44/43/23 for a balanced overall spec, with +13 to all skills at RR3 I sit at 57 comp scythe, 56 comp arb, and 36 comp parry), which allows me to have pretty good weaponskill as well as not get resisted all the time when I switch to nuking, while still having some pretty solid parry.